Thunderstorms and Hike to Cloud’s Rest

We were a bit exhausted from the last climbing adventures, so we rested most of the day and used the time for planning. It was also good timing weather-wise, because there were thunderstorms and heavy rains almost the whole day. When we were waiting for the weather to calm down in Degnan’s Deli, there was even a blackout for at least half an hour. In the afternoon, the rain was less, so we hiked through the Tuolumne Grove to see some Giant Sequoias and a tunnel tree, although it was a bit disappointing. We spent the night at the Tioga Lake Camp, and it started to thunder and rain cats and dogs again. We were happy about the Dodge minivan we rented since San Francisco, because we neither had to go outside to cook dinner nor had to sleep in the tent anymore. It was the first night we actually tried the setup (because the campground before was tent-only) and it felt really comfy and satisfactory.

Because of the wet rock, climbing was out of the question. However, we did a great, long hike to Cloud’s Rest the next day. The path winds through beautiful forest and meadows, as well as glacier-polished granite. The last part, the ridge leading to the summit, looks like “steps towards the sky” because of the granite plates stacked over one another. From the top, we got an impressive view of the Yosemite Valley including Half Dome and El Capitan, as well as Cathedral Peak and Mt Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park. It was astonishing how fast the valley filled up with wildfire smoke. Within minutes, the previously clearly visible El Capitan disappeared. Well, after that hike, we still had to walk to the May Lake Backcountry Camp. We were glad to finally rest our legs when we arrived, especially after carrying up all the camping equipment. It was a wonderful place to spend the evening and night.

The following day, there were suspicious clouds all over the sky again. So, we decided against rock climbing and did another, small hike to Lyell Canyon. Just a few meters next to the path, we saw some deer. Afterwards, we continued our journey eastwards, driving all the way through the Tuolumne area to Tioga Pass. From there, an impressive, steep road leads down to Mono Lake. You can read about our experiences there in the next entry.